hope

Good Good Father

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Thanking my Father

 In such a turbulant world that seems to be full of people who are unable to accept each other and their differences more than ever today, I find God’s Word a comfort. I read a devotion this morning about how the things we believe are important, even the fights with have with others are not always honoring to God because it is trivial. I stop and think about fights my husband and I have had and were they worth the effort when we could have been glorifying God with our actions. All that is important is sharing our life and our Lord with others. For some reason reading this brought the song Good, Good Father by Chris Tomlin to my mind. I find that God is where all the answers really lie.  “But test everything; hold fast what is good.”  1 Thessalonians 5:21.

I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think you’re like
But I’ve heard the tender whispers of love in the dead of night
And you tell me that you’re pleased
And that I’m never alone

Searching for Answers

I walk in a world that can seem fatherless. I walk in a world where so many people are seeking something, but have no idea why they feel empty. I pray that I can be an example of God’s joy and a light for someone’s path. I pray that those who need a Good, Good Father may find the peace of God sooner in their lives.  “May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.”  Jude 1:2.

I’ve seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we’re all searching
For answers only you provide
‘Cause you know just what we need
Before we say a word

You’re a good good father
It’s who you are, it’s who you are, it’s who you are
And I’m loved by you                                                                                                                     It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

Love Speaks Louder Than Words

Thinking back on my devotion. May I choose the words from my tongue carefully and the expressions from my face in order that God shines through and not my flesh. May Love speak louder than words through my actions. As a former educator, I used to watch students walk through a day with little love in their eyes and in their lives, I knew that I might be the only person to call their name or smile at them that day.  This is a reality for many children. 1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”   Oh, it’s love so undeniable
   

I, I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable
I, I can hardly think
As you call me deeper still
As you call me deeper still
Into love, love, love   Because you are perfect in all of your way                  You are perfect in all of your ways                                                                          You are perfect in all of your ways to us  

You’re a good good father
It’s who you are, it’s who you are, it’s who you are
And I’m loved by you
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

Closing Verse:

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    Challenge:  Share the Good Father with those who need Him.            

There Is A Man I Admire

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And that Man is Jesus.  

My heart is filled with so much hope and love.  I can walk day to day knowing that Jesus is by my side.  When I read of his life, I wonder how I get to have the life I have and Jesus had to sacrifice so much.  He loved, yet was betrayed by his own people.  “And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”” Matthew 26:21.  He trusted, yet those close turned against him.  With all of this he still forgave and opened the door for mankind to walk into the presence of this Father one day cleansed by his blood.  Why?  That is a deep and longing love for man.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.   That is a heart that I long for to walk like Jesus.  Jesus walked the earth among the sinners he loved and always searched for the good.  He taught us to find the good in others and to love others just as Christ has loved us. One of my favorite stories of Jesus’s love is found In John 8:1-11. 

“1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

John 8:1-11.

I love that Jesus showed true forgiveness in this story and such an example for us all.  

Finding Jesus 

Finding Jesus in man today can be hard.  We are a self-centered people, who long to be right, be better than others, and find fault.  We protect ourselves from our own lives no matter the cost.  This is a hard world to live in and find Jesus.  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, “ Romans 3:23.  Sometimes it seems like genuine Christians are few and far between.  Christians forget who they are and what they stand for sometimes as we walk through this secular world of sin.  God warns us of this world. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.” 1 John 2:15-16.  Yet, even I find myself sometimes lost in the sins of this world.  It can be very confusing to watch Christians live in this world today.  I encourage us all to guard our hearts.  “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” Psalm 119:37.

There is a Man I Admire

I do live with a man that I see Jesus in everyday.  He loves, forgives, and challenges me to be a better person.  He has been filled with so much pain, yet smiles and lives life to the fullest each day.  Sometimes I wonder how so many people around him can cause so much hurt and leave so much pain.  “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24.  I know Christ died for their sins just as he died for mine, so I pray.  I pray for healing, I pray for answers, I pray for forgiveness – I Just Pray!.  “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24.  Jesus left us with a new commandment and my husband lives this commandment each day.  I am challenged to do the same by watching his example.  Love your neighbor.  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  John 13: 34-35.

Closing Verse:  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Challenge:  Seek to be like Jesus and not the world.

Searching For A New Heart – part 2

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(First posted on March 31, 2013)

Heart of Doubt

kablam_glossy_heartI am continuing to search scripture in order to understand my heart and how to fully allow God into my heart so his work can be done.  I closed my last post dealing with doubt and fear in my heart.  Today I begin my search with thoughts about how the heart is connected to our thoughts.  Doubt and Trouble come from our thoughts, and I found scripture on this in Mark 2:6,8.  Verse 6 reads, “And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,” followed up in verse 8 “But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, ‘Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?”  The scribes were full of pride, remember that for later, and in their hearts they reasoned that when Jesus healed other it was sinful.  In Matthew 9:4 Jesus even says on the same occasion, “But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts?”.  Evil comes from the heart into our thoughts, but there is good news!  Psalm 19:14 says “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”  We can ensure that our thoughts are good and acceptable to Go, but we must focus our heart toward good and God.

Pride

Looking back at the prideful scribes who allowed their pride to plant sin in their hearts and cloud their judgement on Jesus.  Pride evokes fear in me and my heart as it should after reading Proverbs 16:5 which reads “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.”  That is a powerful verse that makes you stop in your tracks.  How many times have we been overcome with pride. How often do we want things our way and fail to consider everything because of our pride.  How often do we want to be praised for what we do instead of serving for the Lord and him alone.  Pride an abomination to the Lord brings silence to me right now.  I wait for God to move.  Leviticus 19:17 mentions hate in the heart, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart.  You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.”  God commanded his people not to have hate in their heart.

Hope vs Wickedness

I tremble before the Lord as I read these verses because I know that God can withdraw himself from my heart if I do not keep my focus on him just as he did with Pharaoh first stating in Exodus 4:21 “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand,  But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.”  God allows hardening of the heart when he is not living in your heart.  When God is living in our hearts we have purpose.  2 Corinthians 9:7 says ” So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”  We have purpose we give from the heart which leads to rejoicing from the heart.  Acts 2:26 tells us ” Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.”  These verses give me hope that the wickedness of my heart will not win out over the Lord living in my heart.

Loving with the Heart

I hold several verses close to my heart and want to share.  Earlier I mentioned that God does not like hate in our heart and commanded it of his people.  Jesus brought a new commandment found in Mark 12: 30-31,33.  In verse 30 -31 Jesus says, ” And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength,” This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  This is finalized in verse 33 showing Jesus as the one true sacrifice where we can find such love in ourselves and our hearts.  Verse 33 reads, ” And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  These commandments and the love I want to hold for the Lord and others in my heart are summed up in Matthew 6: 19-21.  My focus is really on verse 21 but I feel the verses as a whole really shows me that I need to focus on the Lord so my heart is lead to my treasures.  Otherwise my treasures will be evil and sinful and of this world.  Beginning in verse 19, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where the moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; (20) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Closing Verse:  Matthew 6: 21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Challenge:  Commit your heart to the Lord and your store treasures in heaven.  I pray God will help you and me focus on a new heart.

Even If…

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Sometimes God really amazes me.  This week it was through music.  Driving to work I heard the song, Even If by MercyMe.  It was a  moment in my week that struck a chord with where I was at that moment in my life.  I needed God.  He might not give me what I thought I wanted, but I knew he would give me what he purposed for me.  Jeremiah 29:11 is this reminder, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Even If

Hey say sometimes you win some
Sometimes you lose some
And right now
Right now I’m losing bad

I realized that I am losing control of my life.  I feel it spiraling out of control.  Sometimes I feel like I just can not stop it.  Luke 1:37 reveals, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” The brakes are broken and it is all moving too fast.  Then I stop and pray because that is the only way I can find the brakes because nothing is impossible with God.

I’ve stood on this stage
Night after night
Reminding the broken
It’ll be alright
But right now
Oh right now I just can’t

It’s easy to sing
When there’s nothing to bring me down
But what will I say
When I’m held to the flame
Like I am right now

Sometimes the flames feel like they are swallowing me up.  Sometimes I feel lost in the fire.  Romans 3:23 reads, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”  and the flames of life remind me of my sins and I fall on my knees to beg for forgiveness to find relief and love from the flames in God’s arms.

I know You’re able
And I know You can
Save through the fire
With Your mighty hand
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone

The flames of life are sometimes hard to bear.  I pray for God to move in my life and quench the flames, and I must accept how He choses to move in my life.  My hope is in the Lord.  Psalm 31:24, “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!”

They say it only takes a little faith
To move a mountain
Good thing
A little faith is all I have right now

But God when You choose
To leave mountains unmovable
Give me the strength
To be able to sing                                                                                                                                  It is well with my soul

I strive to be strong and find peace even in the flames.  I know that I love a God who can perform any miracle.  Yes, he can move mountains – “He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 – or he may not.  Either way I will take my little faith and in him find the faith I need to walk through the flames. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  Hebrews 11:1

I know the sorrow
I know the hurt
Would all go away
If You’d just say the word
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12.  I will live by faith, rejoice in hope, patiently walk through the flames, and bend my knees to pray that may God’s Will be done.

You’ve been faithful
You’ve been good
All of my days
Jesus, I will cling to You
Come what may
‘Cause I know You’re able
I know You can

It is well with my soul

I will cling to the cross as 1 Corinthians 1:18 reveals, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  I will be faithful in my walk no matter the outcomes.  I will seek peace in my soul. “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3.

Closing Verse:  “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22

Challenge:  When you walk through the valley of flames find your faith and hope through prayer and know that God is preparing your future in his own time.